Composite flooring material



June l1, 1935. H. c. HARVEY Y COMPOSITE FLOORING MATERIAL Filed A ug. 4, 1954 INVENTOR /m @Mm/Er e BY A RNEYS WITNESS 35 outgt-he 'remainder ofthe water :byapplication of tween the supports provided for it in the manner 35 Patented June 11,1935 f 2,004,723

' vrUNIT-15.1) STATES: PATENT, OFFICE j aooa'zzsf COMPOSITE FLOORING MATERIAL Harold C. Harvey, Trenton, N. J. Application-August 4, 1934, vserien No. 738,4464

` claims?. (O1. 154-49) "Myinvention Vrelates to av composite-flooring incOnnection therewith is one-sixteenth of an I materialvconsisting Of. an aggregate in the form inch in thicknessratio of rubber to base oi.' a large unit sheet of a substantiallyrigid base' board which may, of course, be varied within Wide board'ofa fibrous material having resiliency ,and limits and is herein given .byway of illustration 5; high :heat and sound insulating characteristicsrather than by Way of limitation, serves not Only l5V upon which is Vsuperimposed in'spaced relation a to reduce the weight of thev composite `flooring relativelyhard and'highly resilient material upon material but also to effect a substantial saving which in -turn superimposed a comparatively in the cost of manufacture thereof, the usual rubthinzlsheet. ofan .impervious covering material ber flooring `material being of substantially 10-'. such asrubber; the 'base'board, intermediate sheetl greater thickness than the rubber portion of my 10 and covering sheet bein-gsuitably united. composite material, for instance, one-fourth ofk One ofthe Objectsof my invention is toA pro,- aninch. Between the base board and theimvidea mgeunit sheet efe composite flooring me-y perveus Covering material is placed an interme teria] having strength and rigidity, the composite diate sheet which is 4of such a character that it n 15?? flooring material being adapted to ybe laid in place is hard enought0 resist Substantial defermatien 15'; y

to constitute a iioorjbody having a finished surface when a heavyweight, such as a y,desk or bureau,l is and adapted also to support comparatively heavy placed upon it and is sufcientlyelasticto resume furniturepsuch as desks or bureaus, vwithout being its original form and` thus to raise back into subpermmentlymarked, at least to anysubstantialde-` Stantally tS:'0rigI191 COIIlQIl any -.deD1eSSed l my, gree,bythe.def'ormation of the base board.` Myn-l Portion of the impervious covering material `(rubg- 20 f i vention is, however, notlimited to a composite ber). .'Ijhisintermediate sheetis preferably made flooringfmaterial assembled prior to its applicaof thin steel which` should have Sueh qlleflteSvOf tion tothe .floor asthe-sheets maybeassembled springiness and resilience with substantial abinxvhole or in .part as they lare applied to the'floor. sence ofductility that it will not be permanently 'V'Ih'e fibrous material constituting the `rigid base indentedor otherwise deformed when a weight is 25l or-.ibase'board Iof my composite flooring material placed uponit and-will,v resume its Originalposiislpreferably Of, but'not limited'to, the type known tion whenthe-weght iS 1em0Ved..-The Sheet may in lthe fart asqpulp b0ard `such .pulp board is be composed? of tempered steel and should be as vusuallymade byrunning paper-pulp, wood pulp or `thin as commercially` practicable; I have found 3m the :like into :a mold and by means'of pressure` or a steel-sheetof 4Zdgauge or about .018 inch thick- 3Q otherwise removingthemajority ofthe water-(see, IleSS `allee Suitable'foraverage DUIPOSeS- The for linstance, United States Letters Patent No.` particular thickness and quality of the steel Will 971,936, dated October 4, 1910, :and No. 1,272,566, depend,'of course, upon vthe weights to which the datedA kJuly 16, 1919); and :subsequently drying flooringis to be subjectedeand thedistance be-k I heat, [preferably in a suitably; Aconstructed drier. hereinafter described. i n f l Whenpulp `board has been produced in this manl ,Ia-the. accompanying drawing, in which isf neryspecially when 4a suitable binder has been shownby waylof illustration but not of limitation incorporated-therein, `it is a Icommercial article anv embodiment of mynovel .composite flooring 4M) -(exoeptmossibly for subsequent-shaping -Orsurmaterial, 1 is aperspective viewvof al large 40 facing operations) fsuch as has 'been known in the unit sheetof one form of my material having inmarketfor Iman-y years. l The board may be vof dicated thereonI lin dotted lines suitable devices reprooffcompositiomfor instance, as disclosed in forattaching the intermediate sheet` to the base UnitedStates Letters Patent to Hubert L. Becher, board while at ,the same time permanently spac- 45 Ne.:1,9o'1,r111, dated Mey 1, A1933,. l ing thetwesneets, from one anether; Fig. 2 is e 45 The impervious covering material tobefapplied verticalesection on an enlarged scale through the l to the'flbre board `hereinabovedescribed int atunit sheetvshown in Fig. 1 rand illustrating one taining the robjects y'of my invention is preferform` of vthe `attaching device;` and Fig.r3 is a verably afsheet of :rubber-,thin as `compared to the tica1; section on Van enlarged scale through the thicknessxof -the baseboard, thelthicknessof the unit sheetshownin Fig. 1 and illustrating antwo elements 'being preferably, :but not `neciessaotherorm ofattaching device.A nilygintheration of 8': v1 so that,.fOr/instance, if 'the In'such drawing, A isa substantially rigid base haser @boardzfis fone-half an inch thick,the sheet board offibrous material andLB a comparatively 5 dfmubbersorzother coveringunaterial `employed thinesheetrof rulgzberpf thesame lateral dimen' 55' ing means may be spaced about; l2 inches from sions as the base board. The intermediate sheet made of steel of the characteristics described is indicated by C.

The sheet B vis attached to sheet C` by means yof a suitable' cementitious compound D. In Fig.

2, E indicates the floor material, for instance, wood or cement, to which my composite flooring may be applied. In Fig. 3, E' indicates a wooden flooring.

In Fig. 2, F indicates a rivet provided with head fl and a spiitehank f2. 1n Figs, G indicates a v perforated rivet composed of apertured head gl and apertured shank g2 and H indicates a per-' forated washer acting as a spacing element. I

represents a nail, preferably of the headless type,

the upper end of which is, however,1 tapered so that the nail may be wedged tightly into the steel sheet after it has been drivenr home.

board and the steel sheet.

`The baseboard-l may befconnected to the-ce-l mented steel ,and rubber sheets as' follows:V `Aftery the rivets F and/ or G have been attached toth'e steel sheet, the base board is laid'thereon and is` then subjected to a pressing or hammering ope'ration to drive the rivets through the base board.' Theends of the split'shanks are then struck up` to bitel into the base board asv shown in Figs. 2l

and 3 to hold such boardto the steelsheet.

If my composite flooring fis assembled in lthe factory or otherwise priorto being applied tothe Y floor,l the heads ,fl and gl andpreferably also the washersH are secured, as by welding or otherwise, to the intermediate steel sheet.'v At least part rof the v rivets should be secured to the steel sheetrso as to prevent displacement of suchfsheet relativelyjto the base board.

` 'j The heads fl and gl and the washer H act as means to spacethe steel sheet from the base board v "l kfor reasons hereinafter" described. The' rivets r'` and Glwhen attached to the intermediate steel sheet serve to secure such sheet permanently to the base board. i

In the construction of my sheet, I may employ "f only rivets of the type shown" at F or only4 rivets of the type shown at G but Il prefer to use the former wherever possible because, being im' perf orate, they are less expensive to manufactureI andare stronger. When the flooring is to be ati tached permanently to a wooden floor, nails will have to be used and then' I prefer to employ at least some of the rivets of the perforated type shown at G because nails may be convenientlyl driven through them. If it isV desired'to drivef nails through the composite f iooring near tl'iej edges thereof, this may be done at any suitableI each other. l Y y Obviously wherever a' nail is used in Vconnection with? a perforated washer or a' perforated rivet G, the importance of weldingor otherwise additionally securing the spacing member to the vsteel sheet is diminished; nevertheless vin order to insure proper spacing of' the attaching means and thusobtain a uniform product, I prefer'to attach J 'indicates f the intermediate air space between 'theV base all of such spacing means in place before my flooring is applied. Y Y

Wherever a nail such as of the type which I have described is driven through the steel sheet. it should be driven down far enough to have lts n upper end lie below the impervious covering material; The apertureso produced in such covering material, or created before the nail is applied.- should be lled up, for'instance, in the case of rubber, by means ofl a suitablyfcolored self-vulcanizing cement,asindicated'at. K.L

If the composite flooring section is to be affixed to a wooden floor by nailing, it is preferably so assembled that the impervious outer layer (e. g. rubber) remains uncemented at the edges for aboutv two inches; along such two inch strip` the flooring section is provided with lhollow rivets l n G and/or perforated washers H through which nails-maybe driven to anchor the Vcomposite flooring to a wooden floor.v Moreover, wherever the hollow `-vri-vets ory washers'iare vattachedpor loose perf orated'lwashers Vare to beV posltion'ed',Y it is preferable` to 'punch or drill: the nail-receiving apertures Vat' such placesfbefore.' the ri'vetsior,l Washers are attached to the sheet, orebefore. the washers are iinserted'between the steel'sheet and thev base' board-,'-to"assist"the.workmen in: properly positloningfthe nails'.l ,The unattached' rubber i edge portionsr mayy then :be 'cementedtoi the steel sheet, the cement serving` also to fill any' cavities produced by thedrivingin ofthe nails so far that their heads are :not flush" with but lie belowvthe surface of `thesteel sheet. The useof flller'plugs'is thus-avoided, and .the'nailf` 35 vBy spacing the 'intermediatevsheet ffromfithef base" board, I' obtainfseveral 'important .advan-t Oneof them is that deformation of the relatively weak base board material by 'a' weighty heads -areconcealed. .I

tages.

placed upon theflooring is substantiallyprevent` ed,I or if any takes place,it'wil1'not affect` the outer appearanceof the flooring, as the rubber; sheet springs back into its original condition' with the steel sheet'.V Themain advantage, however;v

is the :provision of ari-intermediate space filled with airwithin which. air may circulate 'and also actas acushion. fWhen the floor iswalked upon," the steel sheet is depressed, the resultbeingrthat4 ai'r is driven outatthe edges of the flooring. and' when the pressure is removed air is drawn in from the edgeof the ooring, the result being abellows action operating to effect circulation of air'whi'ch carries away any moisture which may have absorbed by the base board. This vis amatter of particular importance when a cellar ooror'any other floor subjected tov moisture is covered with my flooring material; Asitis substantiallyirri'-rv` possible to `prevent moisture from being absorbed bythe usual type of more'or less porous backing which must be employed when rubber or' linoleum isv used as the surface for the flooring, such moisture eventually causing decay 'and objectionable odors, the circulation of air 'accomplishedby my improved flooring structure makes 1t practicable to provide even damp floors with a rubber or simi lar surfacing. i j i Although I have shown and described certain specific embodiments of my invention, Iam fully aware that many modifications thereofare possible and my invention'is therefore not to'be restricted to the embodimentsV shownfiand' dc` Also, other hard and resilient sheets may be used in place of steel, such as vulcanized fiber.

I claim:

1. A composite flooring material comprising a substantially rigid base board of iibrous material having resiliency and high heat and sound insulating characteristics, said base board being of substantial thickness, a comparatively thin sheet of an impervious covering material, an intermediate sheet having a high degree of resiliency and a low degree of ductility, and spacing means between such intermediate sheet and the base board providing air spaces therebetween, such spacing means being of such number and of such vertical (and horizontal) dimensions as to permit the intermediate sheet to be depressed until it receives support from the base board when the average weight to which the iiooring has to be subjected is placed thereupon.

2.l A composite flooring material comprising a substantially rigid base board of fibrous material having resiliency and high heat and sound insulating characteristics, said base board being of. substantial thickness, a comparatively thin sheet of an impervious covering material, an intermediate sheet having a high degree of resiliency and a low degree of ductility, and individually spaced spacing means between such intermediate sheet and the base board substantially as and for the purpose described.

3. A composite flooring material as set forth in claim l, wherein the intermediate sheet is made of steel.

4. A composite flooring material as Set forth in claim 1, wherein the intermediate sheet is made of spring steel.

HAROLD C. HARVEY. 

